Based on the outstanding collections of Indiana University Libraries in the field, this is by far the largest bibliography of Portuguese literature published in the U.S., including not only all genres of literature proper from the beginning to the present, but titles in certain areas—voyages of discovery, literatura doutrinal, early history—that have become an integral part of Portuguese letters. Among the works drawn from Indiana University's Lilly Library of rare books are early printings of Monarchia Lusitana, Vieira's Sermons, and the Chronicle of King Manuel. Also noteworthy is the large number of 19th-century journals and of single plays, particularly comedies and reviews.

American students of Portuguese literature will find especially valuable the extensive coverage of titles published in the U.S. and Great Britain. In the organization of material, the bibliography follows Library of Congress subject classifications.